Professional Documents
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Copyright © 2010 by Anna R. Rapa
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken
from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VER‐ Before the bar exam
SION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 by Bib‐
lica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved
worldwide.
Take a moment to express to God exactly how you feel about
your situation right now. Invite him into that chaos, and ask him to
bring strength and calm and focus.
July 24 July 9
My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, what‐
in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about ever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think
2 Corinthians 12:9 about such things.
Philippians 4:8
One of the most amazing things about walking with Jesus
is how he can use even the most mundane or ordinary things The things you think about have so much power to affect
and people to accomplish great things. Jesus’s original followers you. You can think negative things, like “I can’t do this,” “I’m
were mainly fisherman—just ordinary guys doing ordinary going to fail,” or “I’m not going to survive.” Or you can think
things with no education and nothing to offer. This verse was about what is good and true and right.
written by a guy named Paul, and he had some kind of physical What is true is that you made it through 3 years of law
ailment that was weighing him down. Even so, he had learned school, and you passed all your classes. You remember a lot
that what he could not do, God could enable him to do. more than you think you do. You are capable of taking this test,
On those days when you are feeling particularly weak or and you are capable of passing it. Think about those things.
worn down, like you can’t do anything, you have a special op‐ Don’t allow your mind to run away from you—take control of
portunity to experience Jesus’s power in you. You can ask for those thoughts and tell yourself the truth.
him to walk with you and sustain you and give you strength to
do the things that you have to do. It is amazing then to watch What harmful thoughts have you been allowing to take over
and see what he can accomplish and how he does it. your mind? Tell Jesus about them, and then ask him to help you to tell
yourself the truth.
What are you not strong enough to do today? Ask Jesus to
show himself to you by helping you to do more than you could do on
your own.
July 10 July 23
Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will Cast all your cares upon the LORD and he will sustain you.
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I He will never let the righteous fall.
am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your Psalm 55:22
soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28‐30 The word “cast” means to throw or fling or hurl. That’s
an amazing word picture, isn’t it? You should be flinging away
You are exhausted. You are weary. You are tired of all the things that are weighing you down. But you don’t fling
studying and thinking and stressing. There is rest and peace them off into outer space or into nothingness; you’re actually
available to you. Jesus invites you into a relationship with him throwing them upon the God of the universe. He can bear those
where you can find peace. burdens that you are trying to carry alone. Not only that, he is
Although your circumstances may not change, when you inviting you to send them his way so that he can sustain and up‐
take on Jesus’s name and you walk with him, your soul finds rest hold you.
in a way that you will not find elsewhere. You can rest in the To truly let your burdens go though, you’re going to have
reality that you are loved and valued no matter what you to trust him. You’re going to have to trust that he will keep
achieve or don’t achieve. You can rest in the reality that no mat‐ walking with you, that he will hold you up, that he will help you
ter what happens in life, you know who you are and who you to sleep and to remember and to think clearly.
belong to. If you are walking with Jesus, then he has already made
you righteous—right with God. He will sustain you.
Bring your weariness and exhaustion to Jesus. Ask him for
rest—true rest for your soul that only comes from him. Take a moment to write or draw everything that is weighing
you down. Take it outside and throw it as far away as you can. Or set it
on fire. Or something. While you are appropriately discarding of it,
pray and cast those things away, to Jesus.
July 22 July 11
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified be‐ Rejoice in the LORD always! I will say it again: rejoice!
cause of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will Philippians 4:4
never leave you nor forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6 The book of Philippians was written by a man who was
imprisoned because of his faith in Jesus. He was writing to a
This was written by Moses, who led the people of Israel group of Christians who were facing a lot of persecution for their
from captivity toward what would become their own land. He beliefs. And even in these circumstances, he encouraged people
wanted to encourage the people of Israel that, because God was to rejoice because of what they had found in Jesus.
with them, they did not have to be afraid. Rejoice means to be glad or to take delight in. If you are
Unfortunately, the people didn’t listen. When they sent following Jesus, there are always reasons to rejoice, no matter
spies into the land, they reported back how big and tall and what the circumstances. And there is so much power in rejoic‐
rough the people of the land were. So the people of Israel de‐ ing, even in spite of stressful and difficult circumstances.
cided that they couldn’t take the land and wandered around the
desert for many more years. The next generation had more faith What do you have to be glad about or take delight in right
now—today? Take some time to thank God for those things right now.
and eventually they ended up where God was leading them. But
that first generation missed out on an opportunity to see how
God would provide for them.
If you are walking with God, then he is with you no mat‐
ter where you go. He will be with you when you take this test.
He will be with you while you wait for the results. Do not be
afraid. Walk forward in confidence that he is with you.
What does it mean to you that God will never leave or forsake
you? How does that affect the way you view the bar exam?
July 12 July 21
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confi‐ Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you
dence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when Philippians 1:6
heat comes, its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a
year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Walking with Jesus leads to a lifetime of transformation.
Jeremiah 17:7‐8 When you have invited Jesus into your life and you have begun
to listen to what he says about who you are and who you could
In this passage, the prophet Jeremiah was comparing a be, he begins to change you from the inside out. You become
man who puts his trust in God and a man who does not trust in more kind, loving, joyful, faithful, self‐disciplined, peaceful, pa‐
God. The word picture seems to be a picture of abundance and tient, good, and gentle. But that process does not happen over‐
thriving greenery versus barrenness and emptiness. night. Sometimes you find that you are still angry or upset or
The point is that the world around you is uncertain and mean to someone else. Sometimes you will look for peace and
stressful and difficult. But when you put your trust in God to not be able to find it.
walk with you, to provide, to give you what you need, to trans‐ But you can have confidence that Jesus is not done with
form you from the inside out, your confidence will never be mis‐ you yet, and he will continue to transform you to make you more
placed. Even in difficult times, when the world is hostile, your like him. In those difficult moments where you have forgotten
root system goes down to the deep places, gaining strength from who you are and who you belong to, just stop for a moment and
the One who will never fail. invite Jesus into that pain and ugliness. Ask him to continue to
transform you.
Where does your confidence come from? Ask Jesus to help you
to trust in him for life and peace during this difficult time. What pain or ugliness have you had in life today? Invite Jesus
into it and ask him to continue to transform you and give you peace
with God and with those around you.
July 20 July 13
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circum‐ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by
stances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests
I Thessalonians 5:16‐18 to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all under‐
standing, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Thessalonians is another letter written by a pastor to an Philippians 4:6‐7
early church. He encourages the church to do three things: be
joyful, pray, and give thanks. A few days ago you read about One of the best ways to let go of anxiety is to turn over
rejoicing, and every day you are taking time to pray about where the things you are worried about to Jesus. Pray about what you
you are. Today let’s focus on giving thanks. are feeling, ask God for what you need, and let go of the stress by
The stress and pressure of the bar exam takes its toll, and placing it in God’s hands.
it often makes you feel negative about everything. You feel bad This is hard to do. No sooner will you pray and let things
about yourself, you feel bad about your abilities, and you feel go, when you will find yourself worrying again. Praying, asking,
angry and upset and irritated at everyone around you. One of and letting go is a discipline of the mind and the heart. First you
the best ways to change your attitude and rise above your cir‐ have to trust that God is safe to rely on, and you have to be will‐
cumstances is to be thankful for what you have and who you are. ing to choose to leave things there.
Write or draw as many things as you can think of that you have What things are you anxious about? Tell Jesus about them.
to be thankful for. Take some time to thank God for providing them for Ask for what you need. Thank Jesus for what he has already provided
you. and for what he is going to provide.
July 14 July 19
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for
good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. those who trust in him.
Ephesians 2:10 Nahum 1:7
Followers of Jesus have a calling to participate in his For thousands of years, those who follow Yahweh (the
work of rebuilding relationships in the world—relationships be‐ Hebrew name for God) have said that God is good and a refuge
tween God and people, between people and other people, be‐ in times of trouble. Many people coming before you have
tween people and the earth, and people with themselves. God known God, relied on him, and found him to be trustworthy.
created you just the way that you are to be a part of this mission He cares about you and you can rely on him. He will be
and purpose in the world. He has things that he’s inviting you to your refuge if you seek shelter from the storms of life in him.
do, and he will help you to do them well.
Knowing this can give you peace and confidence in diffi‐ Take a few minutes to memorize this verse. Ask God to be
cult situations. If you are walking with Jesus and living out of your refuge in this difficult time.
who God created you to be, you will be right where you’re sup‐
posed to be. God is with you, and he will help you to live out
your mission right where you are today.
What good works do you think have been placed in front of
you to do today? How about after you become an attorney? Ask for
God’s help to do those good things, both now and in the future.
July 18 July 15
He said, “In my distress I called to the LORD and he an‐ I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.
swered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have
you listened to my cry.” overcome the world.
Jonah 2:2 John 16:33
Jonah is the story of a prophet who ran away from God. Jesus said these words to his followers when he was try‐
This caused such a bad storm that he got thrown off the boat he ing to explain to them that he was going to be killed so that a
was on and was in the belly of a fish for 3 days. When he was way would be made for people to have a relationship with God.
there, he cried out to God and was ultimately thrown out of the He was trying to explain to them about the spiritual kingdom
fish onto dry land. This verse is Jonah explaining that experi‐ that he had been building. He was trying to explain that he
ence—when he was in the deepest and darkest place he could be, would soon conquer death and sin in a way that was final.
he called out to God and God heard him and responded. He wanted them to know and he wants you to know that
No matter how far away from God you are, no matter if he has overcome death and sin and suffering and pain. He will
you ran away from him or found yourself in darkness for some give you peace—right now spiritual peace is available. Ulti‐
other reason, you can be sure that he will hear you when you cry mately, true and total peace is coming. With his death, Jesus
out to him. When you’re overwhelmed by the information overcame evil. You can walk with him now and find the peace
you’re memorizing and feel like you are not going to make it, he and joy of living with him daily knowing that ultimate peace is
will hear you when you pray. coming someday.
Do you find yourself in darkness today? Call out to God and
ask to be rescued from it. What does it mean to you to have peace with God right now?
What does it mean that ultimate peace is coming? Talk to Jesus about
these things.
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Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members In him and through faith in him we may approach God with
of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. freedom and confidence.
Colossians 3:15 Ephesians 3:12
Yesterday you read about the spiritual peace with God Sometimes it’s hard to imagine why a God who created
that is available right now and about the ultimate peace that is the universe would care to hear from you. Sometimes it’s hard
coming someday. Allowing that peace to rule in your heart is to imagine that he would care about whether you pass the bar
the next step. It is not enough to know that you have peace with exam, whether you’re feeling well today, whether you’re getting
God. You need to take that peace into relationships with the sleep, or whether you have what you need in life.
people around you. But Jesus came to earth to show you how much God cares
Colossians is a letter written by a pastor to one of the first about you. God is not a distant God, floating up there in the sky
Christian churches. Like all other people, they struggled in relat‐ somewhere doing his own thing. He has, since the beginning of
ing to each other in a loving, kind, and compassionate way. The time, been involved and active in the affairs of mankind. He
pastor was telling them that, because they had found peace with loves you so much that he sent Jesus here to show you who he is
God, that peace should affect their behavior toward one another. and how much he loves you. Because of that, you can have con‐
They were called to love and care for and be kind to one another. fidence that when you pray, God hears your prayers through Je‐
Because they knew where they stood with God, they could stop sus. You can feel free to come to him at any time with any prob‐
being selfish and greedy and mean to each other and simply love lem that you might have.
out of the love God had given them.
Jesus has made a way for you to bring all of your hurts and
Do you have peace in your heart with God? If so, is that cur‐ problems before God. Take some time to share your burdens with him
rently affecting your relationships with other people? Pray that God right now.
would allow his peace to fill you and give to the ability to be loving and
kind and compassionate toward others.